Planted PDX

Nestled in a quiet westside neighborhood not far from Multnomah Village, Planted PDX serves delicious vegan food from one of the cutest food carts around. It is owned and run by two brothers, Jordy and Harrison Dodge, whose family took cooking seriously. Their Korean grandmother was a chef who specialized in Chinese cooking. She taught her sons to cook, and they in turn passed on the love of cooking to their sons. Jordy has also worked in various restaurants in Portland. The brothers now have used that knowledge to create unique, globally-themed, vegan dishes.

Jordy and his friend, Judd Calvin, opened Planted PDX in October 2020 during COVID when restaurants were closing or only doing take-out. Neighbors appreciated that they could call in their orders and then pick them up outside. It is still all take out, but there is now an outdoor patio seating area that keeps expanding. You can order online, call in, or order in person.

Their most popular dish is their Famous Fried Rice—a wok-seared medley of jasmine rice, corn, sweet peas & carrots, topped with Indonesian style tempeh and garnished with cucumber, cashews, scallions, and house aioli. Customers also rave about the Yakisoba Noodles, the three versions of Mac & Cheese, which are described as decadent tasting, and the Arepas. Arepas have been eaten in northern South America since pre-Columbian days. They are corn cakes that are crispy on the outside with a fluffy interior and then filled like a sandwich. You can order an Arepa filled with either a black bean falafel or simmered black beans. The goal at Planted is good tasting food. Jordy says, “Things always taste better when you put a lot of time and care into them.” Just about everything is made on-site.

The food cart itself is made from the sides of a Japanese shipping container, welded onto a trailer. After Jordy and Harrison bought the food cart, Jordy and friends and family had a big party and added the wood sides and other custom features. Their gator logo on their cart and webpage comes from the Japanese brand of shipping container they used.

There is now a pop-up beer cart next to Planted PDX called Little Hop Brewing. It opens Saturday evenings, but they hope to open more days. Jordy and Harrison are planning to have some live music events this summer. Last year they drew 200 people for a bluegrass concert. You can find out what is happening on their Instagram account or by stopping by.